act is Nigeria is a case study in political engineering. The ingenuity of her political class and lack of shame bewilder any sane individual. And to think the country has become icon of corruption and infrastructural decay in the midst of abundant human and natural resources drains the confidence in any worthy son and daughter of Nigeria.

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President Obama's recent visit to Africa, specifically Ghana, highlighted the pariah status of Nigeria in the comity of nations, and a reinforcement of the fall from grace to grass of a once respected nation. Listening to President Obama address the Ghanaian parliament, last week, was an open rebuke of Nigeria's political fraudsters and election riggers. And to think that a re-branding of this sick nation, in form of propaganda, is an agenda of the UMYA government cannot but bring disdain from any well-meaning Nigerian. Does Ghana need any rebranding? Was Obama's visit not a stamp of approval for the progress which that country has made since J. J. Rawlings dramatically truncated the lives of the megalomaniacs in Ghanaian politics? Progress and development in any society do not need trumpeting from the roof tops. They speak for themselves!

So what can this UMYA led government say about making Nigeria better? Yes, N523 trillion paid to legislators overall and only 523 bills have passed? No math is needed to discover that for each bill passed, Nigeria doled out one trillion naira. Is this a sign of a people ready to change for the better? The whole aura of governance in Nigeria stinks and the generality of her people either cannot smell the coffee or are filled with apathy.

Fatalism, at times, appears a succor for some who are gradually getting set to join the ranks of the ancestors. But our children and posterity must of necessity know what roles we played or are playing in changing the direction of this decadent country, where people seek elective and appointive offices for the sole purpose of lining their pockets and those of their off-springs. Yet, these are people that pray more than the Pope and Mullahs.

A country where a sizable proportion undergoes the hajj and pilgrimage yearly, but no vision ever received from their God as to the process of getting delivered from the human monsters tormenting their daily lives. A nation that pursues the superficialities of this world and in which 'Men of God' are said to be receiving visits from eminent Ghanaians, Zambians and from other African countries? Where fits the saying: 'Physician, heal thyself first' in all these? Despite this, the lunar cycle unabatedly reminds the faithful of the Ramadan and the Lenten season! What are the imports of these, if life continues to be a bore and no improvements?

Perennially we are forced to entertain these miscreants in government who use the apparatus of state to simultaneously intimidate and loot the treasury. They coerce respect from us, even when they cannot manage their own households. They marry their daughters as second and third wives to fellow looters of our commonwealth without caring the impact this makes on other Nigerians who are the beasts of burden? Any time we have a new head of government, the first schedule is marrying their sons and daughters out to other looters and their children, why? And we are further reminded that their fake party, bound together under oath to parasitize on the Nigerian people will continue to rule for the next 50 years irrespective of the electoral wishes of majority of Nigerians?

Well, pain can only survive for a while. With time one gets numbed to pain like a leper who cannot feel the heat. The pain and sorrows that Nigerians have endured cannot be in vain. It is time for Nigerians to decide enough is enough. A demand for a thorough overall of the electoral process is a sine qua non for positive political progress in Nigeria. A rejection of those who insult our intelligence at the polls by mass demonstration is necessary to wean our people from these jokers recycling themselves in office.

If others are not ashamed of the opprobrium brought unto Nigerians worldwide by inept politicians foisted on us, this writer is ashamed. The images we see of our political leaders do not inspire enthusiasm, they are images of psychologically perplexed leadership who neither command confidence nor inspire optimism in one. Truth must be told, if a people do not want a leader, commonsense dictates that such a leader should exit willingly. And if such is so fastened to power as to ignore the wishes of the people then he/she should be showed the way out peaceably. And there are many peaceful strategies to adopt.

In days of old growing up in that beautiful town, Ode-Ondo (Ondo Town), when the lanterns and the moon were the illuminators of darkness; the firewood fired the cooking pots; daily fetching of spring water from Oke-Baike (Barracks) was a chore; life was serene and shame was a vice which no one, even a child, wanted to be visited with. These were the values that made a man out of one. Civics and moral lessons were integral parts of the curriculum, and then the thirst for education was unquenchable.

To now see a country festooned in the garb of shamelessness and incivility hurts one badly. This picture sends needles into ones moral nerves reminding of the sacrifices which our parents and early, dedicated, politicians made to get Nigeria on the path of nationhood. Now, values have changed and thieves /morally bankrupt persons dictate the pace of retrogression. We must regain our country by supporting those who have proven track records of service to humanity; those who are ready to use our resources for the greater good, and who will be accountable to the people. Yes, by supporting those whose fidelity to the oath of public office will not be compromised by demonically possessed beings masquerading as politicians, who demand private oaths on the altar of Baal.

So-called elected politicians who may seek re-election in future must tell us what they have achieved in their years in office. The PDP party so far has failed to move development and a viable opposition comprised of anti-looters , lovers of true democracy and pragmatic people who are ready to leave the world a better place should urgently band together to prepare to confront the breed of legislooters that are parading the corridors of power today. Time to plow the political field for receiving the seeds of progress and freedom for the 2011 elections is now. Nigeria must wake up to fulfill her God-given destiny. We are blessed with abundant human capital to reap our full potential as a nation.